Tea at Trianon: All That Remains

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, July 20, 2014

All That Remains

A powerful film about the Catholics of Nagasaki and the nuclear holocaust. To quote:

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
~1 Corinthians 13:13~

“All That Remains”, is a powerful true story of atomic bomb survivor Takashi Nagai, pioneering scientist, Christian convert, and dedicated peace-activist.

Takashi Nagai, a descendent of a Samurai family, a patriot and a pioneering scientist emarks upon a quest for the “ultimate truth” – the meaning to life and death. It is a journey of discovery that will change his life forever. An extraordinary story of persecution, courage, faith and love unfolds as he uncovers the Christian legacy of Nagasaki and meets his own destiny.

Along the journey we meet Paul Miki and the 26 martyrs of Japan and learn how the building of Urakami cathedral – the grandest cathedral in the East came to symbolize the enduring faith of the Nagasaki Christians. Then Takashi meets Midori, the woman who will finally transform a sceptical man of intellect, into a man of the heart.

But on one sunny, August morning in 1945, everything vanishes in a blinding flash of light, and the world is turned into a burning inferno. The second atomic bomb to be used in warfare has just exploded over Nagasaki. Midori is one of the estimated 80,000 souls killed instantly.

Now the scientist is forced to turn to God, as he must become a father and a teacher, not just to his two young children, but to an orphaned nation, sick and debilitated by war.
It is his faith that will guide him back to Atom bombed Nagasaki, and it will be his faith that will him inspire him to help rebuild a city from rubble and ash.

Having been diagnosed with leukemia (a result of prolonged exposure to X-rays), he dedicates the rest of his short life to promoting world peace through his work as a writer. After a battle against censorship, his first book “The Bells Of Nagasaki”, becomes an instant bestseller though out Japan, as a people, defeated and demoralised by war, re-discover through his words, the healing of power of love.

Now confined to his bed and sensing his time is running out, Takashi begins to write his final and most poignant book, “Leaving My Beloved Children Behind”, a serious of letters addressed to his children.

“All That Remains” is an inspiring story of supreme sacrifice and a testament to the strength of faith and the power of love.

We’ve also just launched our All That Remains blog page which will act as a production diary, so we’ll post more in-depth updates, more behind the scenes glimpses etc. The blog will continue to run for the entire length of the production. (Read more.)